


Till death do you apart

by TheNorthLight



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, I have a lot of pairings comming up, M/M, Marriage, Other, School Assignment, You Have Been Warned, a lot of fluff eventually
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-22
Updated: 2015-11-26
Packaged: 2018-04-16 14:59:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 22,191
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4629654
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheNorthLight/pseuds/TheNorthLight
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Three hours into their freshman year in high school and they have already gotten the worst assignment possible: Marriage. Eren can’t think of a worse fate until he learns that not only will his partner be a husband instead of a wife, but it will be a husband from the senior class...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Heya! So here we go! I got the inspiration for this a little while ago when I remembered a fanfiction I read many years ago. Other than that I want to thank my amazing friend and beta SigridMarie !  
> I also wanna apologies in advance; I know nothing of the american schoolsystem. So then thats said.  
> The first chapter is supposed to only be a little teaser, a prolouge if you want.  
> I hope that you like it!

”The assignment is called marriage. Simple as that.” Mr. Shadis looked over his shoulder at his new students. He had soon concluded that he had an interesting mix this year. The one Shadis had noticed first was a brunet with a mop of hair that seemed untameable: much the same impression he got from the boy himself. He was loud and took uphalf the classroom with his body language. The blond boy that accompanied him seemed shyer and spoke in a low tone. His blue eyes travelled all over the classroom in a way that made shadis think that he had a lot more going on in that mind than what he would let on. The third of their trio was an asian girl with an eerie calm aura. She seemed to have steel control of herself and everything around her.

The students seemed bored out of their minds and he wondered just how long it would take before anyone took the bait. The little blond coconut sitting with the annoying brunette was the only one that seemed to have registered the words. His hand shot up uncertainly.  
”Marriage, sir?” The boy seemed confused and just a little bit scared. Good.  
”Yes, marriage. It will be the biggest assignment you ever will get as long as you attend this school.” Shadis moved from the blackboard over to his desk.   
”I will pair you up two and two and you will act as if you are married for three weeks. You will be together, eat together, you will live with each other.” He stopped for a moment to let the words sink in and see who he had woken up. Half the class was paying attention now, the annoying brunette not one of them. He was trying to balance a pencil on his nose and the black haired girl behind him was gently nudging him to get him to pay attention. It was clear that she knew what was going on in the front of the room. A boy with freckles was talking in a low voice to his friend that sat beside him. It was another boy with an undercut that made his blond hair look brown. His face was just long enough to remind him of a horse and he found it rather funny that this guy would be radiating such confidence and arrogance. While he seemed like a self absorbed snob, freckles beside him seemed kind and open. The girl in front of them turned and asked them something in a slightly irritated voice. Shadis couldn't really hear it, but her message was clear even from where he stood. The tiny blond girl beside her tapped her shoulder and probably asked her to not bother the boys behind them.

”Of course, the sexual and romantic intimacy of being married won’t be part of the assignment; but except for that you will act as if you were married.” Several groans and sighs came in unison from the class and Shadis smiled. He loved this part of his job.   
”I will pair you up and you will not be able to switch partner.” He looked pointedly at the class and several more groans could be heard. Several students looked uncertainly at each other, they were already wondering who they would get. Some had that hopeful sparkle in their eyes while watching their first choice hoping to get paired with that special one.   
” You will have to live with the person you get as your spouse for the three weeks that the assignment is active. You will also have to write a log everyday on how it goes. You will get themes to write about under the assignment, and those will be written in the log. This assignment is to better understand what-”  
”You said what, Mikasa?! I’m not gonna marry anyone! I’m way too young!” The annoying brunette had finally caught up and shadis gritted his teeth. He quickly shot a glance at the list of names he had gotten earlier and answered.   
”You will not be married for real, Jaeger.” He drew a calming breath and continued.   
”If you refuse to do the assignment you won't have the basis to get a grade and will flunk this course. Which means that you will not be allowed to advance to our next course in the fourth year.” Shadis had held this speech every year he had used this assignment and he knew it by heart now. Jaeger tilted his chair back with his arms demonstratively crossed over his chest. He was not happy at all and he did all he could to show this to his teacher. Shadis ignored him; this was one of the calmer years, it appeared, and the reaction from the annoying kid had nothing on those of earlier years.  
The rest of the class seemed calm enough, only a few pouting, some scared faces and some that actually seemed excited about the assignment. Shadis continued to explain the basics of the assignment until the class was over.   
”We will start in three weeks so you get some time to adjust the thought of it. Class dismissed.” Shadis collected his belongings and walked out of the classroom, leaving his new students to do as they pleased .


	2. Barbeque

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heya people! Woah, I am overwhelmed by the response I got! I think its so so great that so many found the plot so interesting and I hope I will be able to keep up the interest.  
> This chapter and the next chapter will probably be a little uneventful (calm before the storm and all that) but then we get to the good stuff! I can also say that you will get a chapter in Levi's pov, so that's something I guess. Again, I want to apologize for my horrible knowledge of American schools. You will just have to roll with it .  
> I want to thank my wonderful beta SigridMarie. This chapter wouldn't be half as good without her(not my notes either haha).

”I can´t believe it!” I threw my hands up in exasperation and nearly dropped all my books. Mikasa ignored the gesture and Armin rolled his eyes in a way that made me believe he wasn't really comfortable rolling his eyes at me, and definitely not in public. Mikasa went over to her locker, and before opening her own, she opened mine. I mumbled a thanks and dumped my books before slamming the locker shut again. We hadn’t been in this stupid school more than three hours and we had already gotten the worst assignment we possibly could. Marry? I didn’t want to live with some random kid in my class. Maybe if I was lucky I would get Mikasa, but I doubted it. Even though we weren’t actual siblings, everyone (including ourselves) treated us as if we were. Mikasa had been my adoptive sister for such a long time that I usually forgot that we weren’t related by blood. I groaned again and asked Armin what was next on our schedule.

Sasha and Connie had come early to the cafeteria and therefore they had been able to take the biggest table there, with room enough to fit everyone. We had gone to the same junior high and were a tight group. I wouldn’t really have minded if Jean hadn’t gotten a seat, I told myself as I sat down across from him, even though I knew that it wasn’t true. I would have missed his arrogance if he weren’t here. Marco sat beside him, holding his hand under the table as usual. They had been together for almost a year and Marco still kept to the habit. He had told us once about his old school and what had happened there, and it was clear that it still weighed him down.

Connie and Sasha weren’t shy though and they were showing each other off like trophies, kissing each other all the time. That was, when Sasha wasn’t busy eating. Armin was in a heated debate with Historia, and Ymir sent Historia the same looks as she always had. No one understood how Ymir hadn’t had the guts to ask Historia out yet and Historia was still oblivious to Ymir’s affection despite countless nudges from her friends.

I could see Annie, Bertholdt and Reiner in the other end of the cafeteria and Marco, who had spotted them at the same time, waved them over. Reiner gave a huge smile and came over. The two other seemed to be a little more hesitant but they followed. Annie seemed like always to not give a fuck.  
They sat down and the conversation continued until someone spit out: “ So what do you think about the assignment? The one with marrying each other.”  
Everybody turned to Connie and he leaned back in his seat. He seemed a little confused, as if he didn’t quite understand why this question had caught everyone’s attention. “Well…” Armin started. I only rolled my eyes and looked away from the table. I didn’t like the assignment but had decided that it was important for my grade and I needed a good grade.  
“ I think it’s an interesting assignment, unlike any other. I’m sure we will learn a lot!” Armin continued and his feeble enthusiasm was easy to see through. Connie shook his head. “I think it will be a fun assignment! I will have a reason to live with Sasha for three whole weeks!” Connie exclaimed and grinned triumphantly as he put his arm over Sasha’s shoulders. Ymir rolled her eyes and pointed at him.  
“As if you don’t do that already.” Reiner laughed and leaned forward.  
“I think it could be a good chance to get to know someone” he proclaimed and looked at Historia. Historia was as oblivious to Reiner’s looks as she was to Ymir’s, and he seemed just as lost as Ymir.

Jean made a sound to demonstrate just how little he liked this assignment. “I don’t want to live with a stranger. I bet the teacher is homophobic and wouldn’t even consider putting together two boys for the assignment.” His jaw was tense and it was clearly that this made him more upset than what he wanted to show. Marco sent him a reassuring look and probably squeezed his hand under the table. I couldn't really be sure as their hands were still not in my line of sight.

Mikasa stood up and when I looked around the cafeteria was almost empty. Except for some seniors in the other corner there was only us. One of them was talking animatedly about something that was clearly exciting to none but her. Her brown hair was in a wild ponytail where only half the hair was really in. The rest was kept out of her face with the glasses she had shoved up on her head. The others were gathering their belongings while wild hair was talking and everyone seemed to just ignore her, except the smallest one that seemed to grow more annoyed by the second. I was almost certain that he would snap at her any second, but he kept his cool and just glared at her the whole time. They were out of the cafeteria quickly and I was left glaring after them.

“Dad, I'm home!” The door slammed shut after me, making a loud bang. The silence that came afterward was always eerie, and I used it to listen for some sort of response but none came. I let out my breath and kicked off my shoes on my way to the kitchen. Usually I just dropped things all over the house wherever I found it convenient and therefore a lot of my stuff lived on the floor, often the kitchen floor or in the livingroom. Our dad was not home often enough to notice just how messy our little house was. After mom died he had buried himself in work and now he was only home once in a while. We had even moved closer to the hospital. He had told us that it was so that we would be closer to the school, but all three of us knew what the real reason was. I went upstairs with my bag for once and then came back down to check what we had in the fridge. Mikasa had gone with Marco (and Jean by default), to look over some advanced math they were having together.

The fridge was full of random groceries as it tended to be when dad had bought food. He had no idea of what we wanted to eat or what we needed to make dinner, so he usually just bought a lot to pick from. Mikasa had begun writing shopping lists for him, but she must have forgotten it. I closed the door to the fridge and sat down on at the kitchen table. We had a small house now, but it always felt too big when I was the only one home.

One of the only good things that came from moving was that we now lived close to Armin. It only took a couple of minutes to walk. Armin didn’t look surprised when I turned up at his door and he let me in without a question. It was not unusual that I spent time with Armin when there was nobody else home. We played some card games where he won almost without an effort and talked with Armin’s grandpa. Armin’s parents had moved to Europe when Armin was little and the plan had been that they would travel first, checking that everything was as it should be with the house and the jobs and then they were coming back to get Armin. On the way home from Italy there was an accident and Armin’s parents died. No one really knows what happened, but they were found dead several days after their arrival date in America. After that Armin had continued to live with his grandpa.

I didn’t come home until it was late, and by then both Mikasa and dad had come home. There were some cold leftovers on the table for me, and I ate quickly without bothering to warm them first. Mikasa and dad sat in the living room discussing Mikasa’s math course, and I sat down with them, if only to feel like a part of the family. It didn’t take me long to turn on the tv. Except a “hey” from them both they had mostly ignored my presence.

“Eren, Mikasa! Get over here!” Jean was shouting across the classroom and with an eyeroll I walked towards him. Marco gave me a polite smile and Jean wore his usual smirk. The whole gang was sitting together discussing something that engaged everyone it seemed. Ymir had her arm over Historia’s shoulder and sat talking to Sasha.

“What’s going on Jean?” I sounded a lot more annoyed than what I was, but it was just too early for Jean’s enthusiasm. “We are having a barbeque party in Marco’s garden tonight. You’ll both come, right?” Jean asked. I nodded quickly and went over to my desk to drop all my books before dragging my chair over to sit with them. The teacher arrived only minutes after us.

Jean used the opportunity until lunch to throw notes at Marco and every now and then you would see Marco smiling for himself. I had not liked Jean at all in the beginning and when Marco had gotten together with the douchebag I thought he had gone mad. With time I had learned to tolerate the guy, but that was mostly because I saw how happy Marco was with him. Marco had gone through more than his share of bullshit and he deserved all the happiness he could get.

Armin and Mikasa talked enthusiastically about something the teacher had said in class and I just tagged along in the background, not wanting to go alone. I looked absentmindedly around, not really looking at anything when the black-haired senior from yesterday caught my eye. It was the small, angry one. He was walking at a fast pace, but something about him made me think that he always walked fast. The small senior seemed to be deep in thought, though, and didn’t realise he was walking right into me before his head hit my chest. The impact shoved him a couple of steps back and he had a look of utter disgust in his eyes. His eyes looked me quickly over before he made a tsk sound. “Watch where you are going brat”. He then picked up his pace again and disappeared just as quickly as he had arrived. From the moment I saw him till’ the moment he walked away it probably hadn’t been more than four minutes, but I still felt as if it had been an eternity. Mikasa glared sourly after the short, angry senior and Armin looked shocked, almost as if he didn’t believe what had happened. The whole thing had happened so quickly that I didn’t have time to react until he was gone again, but now I got furious. So what if he was a senior? He was the one that had walked into me. Mikasa gave me a look that said forget it, but I knew she was agreeing with me. Who did he think he was?

Marco and Jean had already fired up the grill when we arrived. We were the first to arrive and sat down in the few chairs that had pillows. The only thing in our fridge that we could barbeque was some sausages, so that was all we had brought. I was really hoping for Sasha to bring too much food, even though that had never happened before. Connie could maybe be persuaded to share if I was patient enough.

Everyone else arrived quickly enough, almost at the same time. Sasha and Connie came first, followed by Reiner, Bertholdt and Annie. This event led to a brawl between Connie and Reiner in which they both wanted the last good chair, but it was quickly resolved by Annie sitting down in it. Historia and Ymir came after a little while and Marco found a small speaker and it turned out to be a pretty good evening. Almost everyone had been on vacation the whole summer and therefore it had been a long time since we had all been together like this. I hadn’t realised just how much I had missed them during summer vacation.

“And then he fell asleep on the sunbed and when I came back he was…” I tuned out the conversation and focused on the people instead as Marco continued telling the story of his vacation with Jean. They had gone to california to visit Marco’s aunt, and Jean had fallen asleep out in the sun. The whole incident had forced Jean to stay indoors for the next four days, giving Marco a good laugh. The others were laughing along with Marco and Jean looked like he had gotten the sunburn back. He quickly stood up and asked if anyone else wanted something to drink and hastily left the circle. We continued to laugh and talk until Armin had to go home so his grandpa wouldn’t worry. Mikasa suggested that we walk Armin back as it was safer and we said our goodbyes to the rest of the group.

Dad was not home when we arrived. There was a note on the table saying there had been an emergency and he would be back as soon as possible, but he had brought a key with him and we should just go to sleep when we came home. We were used to these kind of notes by now and followed suit. It had been a long day and I wanted to go to sleep, but a kind reminder from Mikasa made me stay up reading the history homework. A lot of ugly words and silent cursing later I collapsed exhausted into bed and fell asleep.


	3. Movie nights and vows

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Heya! I'm sorry for a slow update. I will try to upadte every three to fourth day, but I can't promise that. What I can promise tho is at least an update every week! So there's that.  
> I am going to thank my wonderful betareader SigridMarie 'cause she's awsume.  
> And the next chapter will be in Levi's pov! Yay!! Right? Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter!

“Mikasa, where’s the popcorn?” I had probably opened every cupboard in the kitchen by now, but the popcorn was nowhere to be found. Dad had gone shopping without us again, and it was starting to get really annoying because he never got what we actually wanted or needed and he had no system whatsoever. He put everything in random places - it didn’t even have to fit. We tried to do the shopping with him when we had the chance, but it seemed he had developed a habit of doing the only chore he had while we were at school. It was probably only then that he had the time, since he usually wasn’t home before after the stores closed in the evenings.  
“I already popped it and put it on the table.” Mikasa’s head was the only thing visible from where she stood, halfway through the door. I stared at her for a few seconds before turning around to find glasses for everyone. When had I become this absent minded? I gathered the cups and went into the living room. Everything was ready for our movie night, we were only missing Marco, Historia and Ymir. It was unusual for Jean not to arrive with Marco, and he looked incredibly lonely on the couch. Sasha and Connie were trying to make conversation with him, but the boy had all his attention directed towards the door and it was very clear. I kicked the wall on my way into the room and Jean almost fell off the couch. “Whoops” I said and laughed. He gave me a dirty look and would probably have told me to bite him if Marco had been there. I sat down on the pillow that Jean had put next to himself, probably to occupy the seat. Jean answered with elbowing me and I pushed him off the couch in a swift motion that he hadn’t seen coming. Mikasa stopped the beginning fight by dragging me off the couch. Jean and I were doomed to wait for yet another chance to prove who was the strongest.

Marco, Historia and Ymir finally arrived, bringing with them four boxes of pizza. It wasn’t really a surprise since we had asked them to bring pizza, but my enthusiasm wasn’t held back by that. While we were waiting we had decided to watch Catch me if you can, and Mikasa turned on the tv and started the dvd as everyone else got settled. I ended up on the floor by Armin’s chair, next to Mikasa. Jean and Marco were positioned on the left end of the couch, with Sasha, Connie and Reiner taking up what was left of space. The only reason our tiny couch was able to fit them all at the same time was that the couples were practically sitting on top of each other. Reiner used up almost half the space by himself. Bertholdt was sitting on the floor by the couch and Ymir had made sure that Historia got the other chair. The tiny blonde was now sitting in the huge chair and seemed smaller than usual with Ymir leaning her head against the chair. There would probably have been room enough for the both of them if Historia had been sitting on Ymir’s lap, but Ymir still wouldn’t suggest something that could be understood as flirting. Annie had positioned herself right by the table, and had the best view and all the popcorn to herself.

Halfway through the movie Ymir and Historia were more interested in talking to each other than watching the movie. Reiner looked like he wanted to jump up and join the conversation, but probably sensed that Bertholdt needed him and stayed. Jean and Marco had an odd fascination with Tom Hanks and were eagerly paying attention. Mikasa had gone over to Annie and it seemed they had found a common interest in Leonardo Dicaprio wearing a pilot uniform.

Mikasa suddenly stood up and picked the empty bowls off the table. On her way out of the living room, she passed Historia’s chair and said something to her in a low voice. Historia nodded and leaned down to Ymir to whisper something in her ear. Ymir turned bright red and shook her head while Historia was getting out of the chair. Annie suddenly gasped as Leonardo showed up on screen in a white doctor’s coat, taking everyone’s focus off the girls. When I turned back to look at them they were both sitting in the chair, Historia on Ymir’s lap. Ymir was still bright red, but her skin tone and the dark room helped a lot with covering it up. Historia was leaning her head against Ymir’s chest while one of Ymir’s arms had sneaked around Historia’s waist. Mikasa came back with more snacks and ignored the girls in the chair. Armin and I were the only ones that saw a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.

By the time the movie had ended I was lying on the floor with my legs up against the wall. I had always been a restless child and today was no exception. The others had just gotten used to it, and took no notice of it anymore, which was why I found it so strange that Connie chose to comment on it. “Your new wife will just looove the way that you can’t sit still for more than five seconds.” Afterwards he smirked like the idiot he was and seemed very pleased with himself. I groaned and let my feet slide down the wall in the usual way that was neither elegant or stylish. I had forgotten about the assignment for a few hours and wanted to punch something now that Connie had reminded me of it.

Tomorrow we would get our partners and then the assignment would begin. This was my last night as a free man, and it was only a small consolation that it would be a mere three weeks and then I would have my freedom again. I could survive three weeks and get a good grade, I was sure of it. I was more concerned about Jean really. He was convinced the teacher was homophobic and could not in his wildest dreams imagine getting paired with Marco. Marco on the other hand thought that it could be a good opportunity for them to get to know more people. He had suggested inviting more people to our gathering, but had quickly been shot down. There was someone in particular he wanted to invite, a girl named Isabel that was in their class. Apparently, her only friends were seniors and Marco thought that we should include her. Jean had gotten jealous and everybody else had voted no because of how little space there was in our living room.

“Yes, she most definitely will. Right Sasha? “ I asked and forced Sasha to stop eating for a few minutes. She nodded and Connie let out an angry “Hey!” and they started bickering. Connie was certain they would be assigned to each other, and even though no one else thought differently we still teased him about it. It was clear they were a couple and we reckoned Mr. Shadis was aware of this as well. The rest of us had no clues to go by and we were equally excited and terrified.

When Armin started hinting that it might be time to go home, it was way past midnight. Historia hadn’t moved since she sat down on Ymir’s lap and seemed reluctant to do so now. There had been a faint smile on Ymir’s lips the whole time Historia had been sitting there. Reiner had looked like a kicked puppy but oblivious as Historia was, she hadn’t noticed it at all. They were now all on their way out the door, saying good night and see you tomorrow. Everyone left except Armin who was going to spend the night. We worked quickly getting the sofa bed ready and finding the necessary things for Armin and soon we said our good nights as well. Armin stayed in my room as usual. We said nothing more and tried to sleep instead. Sleep didn’t come easy this night, but when it finally came it was accompanied by dreams full of people, wedding bells and a small senior.

“I have plastic rings for everyone that I expect you to wear under the whole assignment. It will symbolise the commitment to the assignment and the person you are assigned with.” Mr Shadis was standing in front of the class, holding a cardboard box with gold plastic rings. They made a hollow plastic sound, giving me shivers. I had dreaded this day, but there was nothing I could do about it so I tried to suck it up and endure it. It probably wouldn’t be that bad.  
“I can already warn you that there are not enough girls in this class, so some of you boys will be getting other boys as partners. I expect this to not be a problem as this assignment does not require any romantic or sexual involvement.” He looked at the whole class, underlining the words with his stare. We already knew this, as Mr Shadis had been very clear about it. The whole point of the assignment was to learn otherwise, wasn’t it? To learn not to marry too young, understand how to work with people, don’t get babies and all that. I didn’t really care. I knew I wouldn’t marry too young, I was able to work with people and I definitely wouldn’t knock some girl up and get a baby. I didn’t know if I wanted kids ever - I didn’t even know if I liked girls. All the problems he described seemed so far off it was hard to understand how I would benefit from getting the answers to them now.

“You will come up here with your partner, say a little vow and sit back down, this time next to your partner. The first couple is…” Mr Shadis put down the box and found the list. I tipped my chair even further back and prayed for a partner I could get along with for three weeks. “Sasha and Samuel. Get up here and get your rings.” There was a loud bang and then Connie was on the floor. Sasha hurried over to him and helped him up, both of them looking quite shocked. It looked as none of them had even considered the possibility of not getting paired up and now the idea had just hit them.   
“But Mr Shadis... “ Connie was quickly cut off. “I am aware that you two are a couple, but that doesn’t mean anything for this assignment. You will stay with the partner I have assigned you.” He sucked in a breath and looked at the crushed couple. “This does not mean that you will not be able to spend time with each other. You will of course be allowed to spend time with other people than your partner during the assignment.” He then made an impatient wave with his hand and Sasha went up to stand with her new husband.

“Yes, I promise to stay with Samuel as long as this assignment is active. I promise to stay with Samuel and only Samuel.” Sasha put the ring on Samuel’s finger and almost jumped when Mr Shadis came from behind and threw rice at them.   
“Great, you may sit down with your new husband.” Connie didn’t seem to have recovered from the shock of watching his girlfriend marry another man right in front of his eyes, frozen in his chair. He would have a lot to think about today.   
“Mikasa and Armin.” My head snapped up from my desk as my two best friends made their way up to the front to be married. I was happy for them, I truly were, I just wished that I could have been married to one of them. When Mr Shadis had said that there would be boys paired with boys, a tiny hope had formed that I would be paired with Armin but this was now crushed as he said his vows to Mikasa. They both seemed relieved to have each other and it got me thinking that maybe this was what the assignment should be about.

Reiner was called up with Ymir and we had a hard time not laughing as they spit out their vows. They would probably kill each other the first chance they got. Annie got paired with a boy named Marlo, and Marlo seemed just a bit too excited about this. Annie wore her usual “fuck you” expression and went through the vows without any fuss. Connie ended up with the girl Marco had talked so much about, and Marco smiled encouragingly at Connie as he went up to her. The energetic redhead that was named Isabel didn’t seem impressed with her partner, but with the energy she was radiating it would have been hard to find a partner to match her. All in all Connie seemed like the best option. Names were called and two and two our class got smaller and smaller. When Historia and Bertholdt were called there were only three people left in our class that were still unmarried: Jean, Marco and me. I didn’t expect Shadis to pair me with Jean or Marco, and he didn’t. They were the only two that truly seemed happy to place the plastic ring on each others fingers.

“That’s it, students: You are now married. Remember to write the log every day, and no cheating.You may leave now.” Mr Shadis turned his back to the class and collected his belongings before he left the room. I still had a hard time believing it. I remained unmarried.


	4. Partners

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heya! The clock is currently 01.09 am where I'm living and the only reason I'm still up writing is because you guys are awsume. When I woke up this morning all the feedback I got just made me so happy and inspired me so much! I actually got so happy that I wrote the next chapter way faster than I thought I would and the result is a chapter today. I think it's so cool that all you folks find my fanfic worth reading, it really makes me happy to read the comments!  
> This chapter would not be this great as it is without my gorgeous betareader SigridMarie!  
> I don't really think there's much more to say, except that this chapter is in Levi's pov, as I said it would be last time. Now we're finally seeing som of the other characters that haven't been mentioned so much earlier!  
> I hope you all enjoy this chapter!

Levi’s POV

“Oi, Hanji!” Their head snapped around, looking for me. I continued my fast pace forward and caught up with them almost before they saw me. THanji’s smile brightened when they got me in their sight and they started talking again without any further greeting. They were in the middle of a conversation with Erwin, who gave me a quick nod and a smile to show that he had seen me. It seemed to be an important conversation they were in the middle of, and I didn’t care to catch up. My question could wait for later.

I had quickly gotten into the old routine when school started again, the old rhythm of work, sleep, school. That was how most of my days were spent, and the rest were usually spent sleeping or catching up on schoolwork. My social life was directed by Hanji most of the time. It was no secret that usually the only reason I showed up in social settings was because Hanji always found a way to drag me there. It was not that I couldn’t refuse, but I always felt bad rejecting Hanji. They always put so much effort in including me and I couldn’t reject the thoughtfulness. When they had gone through all the effort of coming to my place to pick me up, how could I say no?

It was in the middle of the lunch break that Mr. Shadis found me. I had never liked that teacher, not since he had tried to marry me off to some girl in my junior year. Fair enough, everyone else had been married as well, under the excuse of an assignment, but I had refused. Just the thought of living with some stranger and act like we were married, even if it was just artificial, gave me the chills. When I had quickly looked over my schedule it turned out I had one class with him this year, apparently a continuation of the class from our junior year.

He asked me in a hurried voice to meet him at his office at the end of the break. As I had no choice I had obliged and the end of the break saw me hurrying towards his office. Lost in thought I managed to walk head first into a kid I had never seen before. His firm chest was almost hard to hit and I had to take a few steps backwards to regain my balance. The kid looked surprised that I had actually hit him. His innocent look set something off in me that pissed me off and with a short “Watch where you are going, brat,” I left him staring after me.

“Mr. Ackerman, sit down.” I gave my teacher a suspicious look but sat down without any further complaints. I was sure there would be enough time for those later. “As I’m sure you remember, you refused to do the marriage assignment in your freshman year. That is a problem.” It seemed that he was trying to stare me down and I wished him all the luck in the world in doing that. No one was able to stare me down.   
“How can that be a problem now, Sir? That was three years ago.” I said, still with the suspicion thickly covering my words. I did not like the way this was going.   
“You won’t be able to do the class this year, since a lot of the material we are going to cover is dependent on the fact that you did the assignment in the first year. A lot of the papers we are going to write this year will be based upon papers you wrote under the assignment the first year.” His stare did not falter, but neither did mine. I knew I looked just the same as always on the outside but my mind was reeling. Was he really saying that I wouldn’t be able to take the class this year? Would I not be able to graduate? Was he kidding me? Was he fucking kidding me?  
“There is a solution, however. There is an odd number of students in my freshman class this year. If you do the assignment this year you should be able to finish your class and graduate.” My mind was still reeling. Do the assignment? Nothing had changed and the assignment seemed just as impossible now as it had three years ago.

My life had been nothing if not full of challenges and I had handled every single one of those. This would just have to be another challenge that I had to get through.  
“If that’s the only possible solution…” I paused to give him a chance to come with an alternative. He didn’t.   
“I will do it.” It almost hurt to have to say the words out loud and Mr. Shadis didn’t gloat in any way. He only nodded to confirm the answer.   
“There’s nothing more then. I have a written copy of the assignment here, take it with you. The assignment starts in three weeks.” I stood up and took the paper he had handed me. Marriage assignment was typed in big bold letters at the top of the paper and made me want to punch the desk. I turned to leave.   
“Mr. Ackerman, my class has a surplus of boys this year. I hope it will not be a problem to have a boy for a partner?” I shook my head and turned to leave again. This time he let me.

I had forgotten my question when I found Hanji later in the day. We had only one class left today and Hanji just couldn’t stop asking about what Mr. Shadis wanted with me. When they threw note number hundred at me I finally gave up. I wrote a quick summary of what had happened and threw it back at them, not expecting the reaction I got. It was the most sympathetic look I had been given since I was five and it made me nauseous. I couldn’t bear to look at them when they wore that kind of expression and the rest of the class was spent trying not to look at Hanji.

They didn’t say anything when the class ended which made it that much worse. I was so used to their babbling that now that they didn’t say anything it made the silence unbearable. I felt it was my fault and in a desperate attempt at breaking the silence I asked them if they wanted to do something later. They looked surprised over at me, smiled as never before and started talking about all the things we could do and for just a second I couldn’t help myself and a small smile tugged at my lips.

“So you have to be married to a freshman for three weeks?” Erwin’s attempt at eating and talking at the same time was less than successful and I made a face that showed him just what I thought of his attempt. He laughed and my expression of disgust grew.   
“Yes, if I want to graduate that is. I could always drop out and work at the bookstore forever.” I threw a napkin at Erwin and he smiled making me look away in disgust. “If the partner I get eats like you I will drop out.” Everyone laughed at my funny joke that was no joke at all. I answered with lifting an eyebrow, challenging Erwin to do that one more time. He took the napkin and cleaned his fingers, still with a mischievous look in his eyes. My eyes rolled automatically and Erwin laughed again, this time with an empty mouth.

We were sitting in the middle of the nearest McDonalds we could find. Hanji had urged me to meet them there tonight and since I had been the one with the initiative I had come without protesting. Farlan and Isabel had wanted to come and Hanji had brought Erwin, Mike, Petra and Auruo. It had been a pleasant night, surprisingly enough. I usually couldn’t stand these places, knowing how dirty they were, but tonight my company had stifled my need for cleanliness. Isabel had been over the moon knowing that I would participate in the assignment as well. The only one in our group that was not in the senior year was Isabel, and we were afraid that we kept her from befriending her classmates. Despite our concern she continued to stay with us, even at school. She was now convinced that we would be partners, and honestly I wouldn’t have minded that. I liked Isabel and she knew where my limits were. I found it very unlikely that we actually had a shot at being paired up, but I didn’t want to kill her hope and said nothing about Mr. Shadis’ comment about being paired up with a boy.

Three weeks went by fast. I had almost no time to think about the assignment, and when the day came I only remembered because Isabel would not shut up about it when I picked her up for school. The reminder had made my mood drop like a rock, but Isabel wouldn’t let that ruin her good mood. When we finally parted ways I was nervous as hell about the assignment and knew that I wouldn’t be able to rest easy for the next three weeks.

“Mr. Ackerman, could you come to my office after the next break?” Mr. Shadis voice came from behind, giving me the chance to let a pained expression briefly cross my face before turning to meet him. “For the assignment?” I asked, already knowing the answer. He gave me a short nod and disappeared in the crowd.

The office was the same as last time, except that his desk was now filled with papers that were just lying around in messy piles. Mr. Shadis was nowhere to be seen, and not bothering to stand outside waiting I had let myself in. Since I was already inside his office now I just sat down and waited. He came in after a few minutes, coffee cup in one hand and another stack of papers in the other. He ignored me, came in and put the new stack of papers on the messy desk making me wrinkle my nose. He gave me a look, daring me to say anything. I wasn’t in the mood to argue with the teacher and said nothing. He took a sip from his cup, glanced down at his clock and moved towards the door again.   
“Wait here and I’ll go get your new husband.” He left without waiting for a response, which was just as good since I had none. I picked up my phone and started playing with it, trying to get the restlessness out of my fingers. The minutes seemed to have lasted for hours when I finally heard footsteps in the hall. I quickly put away the phone and stood up. The door opened and Mr. Shadis came in, followed by a clearly confused kid. His brown hair was messy and unkept, probably not touched since the last time he showered. It seemed strangely familiar but it wasn’t until I saw his eyes that I understood why. The brilliant green belonged to the kid I had bumped into three weeks ago. I hadn’t noticed the color back then, but now I couldn’t understand how I had missed it. The radiating green was accompanied with a rich golden brown color that showed in small flecks all around the iris. His tan skin went nicely with his eyes, giving the boy an exotic look. He was a little taller than me, but then again most boys were. He looked from me to Mr. Shadis, still with the confused look in his eyes. “What’s going on?”  
“Eren, meet Levi. He will be your partner for the assignment.”


	5. Senior

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heya! I'm really sorry people, I know I said I would update on either monday or tuesday, but school and some other stuff happened and I weren't able to finish it before now. It's only a day late so it could be worse I guess. I wanna thank my betareader SigridMarie, cause the chapter would not be nearly as good as it is without her(as always)

Mr.Shadis came in the beginning of my english class.“I need to borrow Jaeger for a little while” was all he said, and my teacher just nodded in response, continuing her lesson. He was gone even before I could get out of my chair, and I almost had to run to catch up with him. He was headed towards his office and ignored all my questions. This had to be connected to the assignment, I thought, and just then we arrived at his office. There was a boy standing by Mr. Shadis desk that seemed familiar in some way. I used a moment too long realising that it was the senior that had bumped into me earlier that was standing by the desk. His black hair looked just as silky as it had then, not even a single strand of hair misplaced. His silver-grey eyes had an unique piercing effect that made me feel small and unworthy. It was an understatement to say he was intimidating. I probably looked just as confused as I felt judging from the smirk the senior put on. “What’s going on?” I tried again and was almost surprised when Mr. Shadis actually answered. “Eren, meet Levi. He will be your partner for the assignment.”

“Partner?”, I said looking incredulously at Mr. Shadis. Of course, it only made sense. I had to have a partner in order to do the assignment, but why on earth would it be a grumpy senior? How did he even end up here? I refused to believe that he volunteered. And above all; why me?  
“Yes, your partner. I don’t care if you don’t like boys, as I said there were not enough girls,” Mr. Shadis said, his words laced with impatience.  
“But… Aren’t you a senior?”, I looked over at my new husband who did not seem to have become any happier since I came into the room. He probably didn’t want to be married to me just as much as I didn’t want to be married to him.  
“Yes, I am a senior, but I refused to do the fucking assignment in my freshman year and I need it to fucking graduate”, he spit out making me even more uncomfortable. He didn’t have to sound like it would be the end of the world. I gave him an evil eye and decided to try to beg my way out of this marriage.  
“Mr. Shadis, I think it’s unfair to pair me off with a-” Levi came over to stand next to me and slapped me in the back of the head.  
“Stop being a little baby, you are stuck with me for the assignment. Let’s get this over with so I can continue with my day,” the senior explained, not that it did anything to soothe my anger. I was just about to attack him with an angry comeback, but Mr. Shadis put a hand on my shoulder, diverting my attention.  
“This is how it will be for the next three weeks,” he said while giving my husband-to-be a pointed look. “Don’t start this assignment with a fight.” I calmed down just enough to not hit anyone, but I continued to glare angrily at Levi. He only rolled his eyes and shrugged in response to the teacher. Mr. Shadis looked displeased but didn’t say anything. He only let go off my shoulder and went behind his desk. The rude senior followed, placing himself on the front side of the desk. I put my arms over my chest and walked over to them, this time not looking at my partner. By now I just wanted to get this over with. 

His warm hands held surprisingly tenderly around mine. We stood in front of the desk, holding hands and saying our vows. I felt just as stupid as I had thought I would. What I had not expected was the warm feeling of his hands around mine and how good it felt. It was probably because I was nervous and needed all the comfort I could find, but it still confused me. His eyes had looked directly into mine when Mr. Shadis began talking, and a quick electric jolt had gone through me. The whole situation felt extremely intimate suddenly and I wanted to bolt, but his warm hands and his grey eyes held me there. His expression seemed to have softened for a moment, breaking the illusion of him being an uncaring asshole. It gave me the comfort and calm I needed. Half a second later though I was sure I had imagined the whole thing, his eyes going back to the cold stare he favored so much. 

“Do you swear to stay with your partner for these three weeks the assignment is active? And do you swear to stay with Eren and only Eren for this assignment?” Levi looked me straight in the eye as he said the next line. “Yes, I promise to stay with Eren for this assignment,” He completed the misplaced ritual by putting the plastic ring on my finger, sealing our vows and making us husband and husband. His fingers lingered just long enough on my hand to send a new electric shock through me. His hands took mine in his grasp again, still holding them carefully like he was afraid they would break. Mr. Shadis repeated the question and I answered with the same seriousness that Levi had. I placed the ring on his finger carefully, afraid to overstep some boundary. The second the ceremony was done Levi took a step back, taking his hands with him. His whole presence had changed, the warm feeling I had gotten completely gone. I told myself that it had just been the ceremony getting to my head, but something told me that I had enjoyed holding hands with him just a little bit too much. 

“Can I go now? I’m missing french,” Levi said, interrupting my thoughts. Mr. Shadis waved him off and told me I was dismissed too. I grinded my teeth hard to avoid saying something stupid and walked quickly out of the room.

“Hey... Eren, was it? Yes? Well, Eren, I’ll wait in my car after school so come find me there” he said after we exited the office, and turned to walk down the hall in the opposite direction. Still deep in my own thoughts I used a moment too much to comprehend what he had said and it gave me a moment of panic: I didn’t know what his car looked like.  
“Levi!” I yelled after him, trying to stop him. It worked. He stopped and turned around slowly, clearly waiting for me to finish.  
“I don’t know what your car looks like. And I need to get my bicycle home,” I said while his glare made me feel smaller and smaller. He sighed in a way that was supposed to show just how annoying he found this whole ordeal.  
“Fine, I’ll wait for you outside your classroom. You have English, right?” I was taken by surprise by the compromise he had suggested and only nodded. He answered by turning around, continuing down the hallway. It wasn’t until the end of my class that I started to wonder how he knew which class I had. 

I had been passing notes to Armin, telling him about what had happened. Armin seemed just as shocked as I was at the identity of my partner, and by the end of our class I started to doubt I would actually find him outside our classroom. The whole thing was so surreal. It actually came as a surprise when I saw him standing there, waiting for me. He was texting someone, only looking up from his phone to confirm that it was me standing in front of him. Armin was in the middle of saying something when he noticed I stopped, and he looked up to see what I was staring at. He quickly put the pieces together and understood that this was my new husband. 

“I’ll just go put my books in my locker…” Armin started but I put up a hand to signalise that he should wait for me without losing the senior from my sight.  
“I’ll join you Armin. I need to put away my books as well, and get my keys,” I added. My eyes lingered at the senior a moment longer and then I turned to go with Armin. His voice was sharp, but quiet and it made me almost jump. He had such a natural authority, not needing a title to gain it. 

“Oi, where are you going?” He looked at me suspiciously from the corner of his eyes. It made me dread the evening we had in front of us. I held my books up as an explanation but he only lifted an eyebrow to indicate a question of “what with the books?”.  
“I’m just putting away my books and getting my keys,” I repeated and continued down the hall with Armin. Armin didn’t look too comfortable but I wasn’t sure if it was because of the encounter or the fact that Levi followed us. He hadn’t said a word, but stayed close and with his nose in his phone. Somewhere along the hallway Mikasa had joined us without a second glance at the senior. She did however ask me in a hushed voice when she was sure he couldn’t hear her.  
“Eren, why is there a senior following you?” I only shook my head in response and sighed loudly.  
“This is my new husband for the next three weeks,” I stole a quick glance behind me at him, checking if he was listening. He was. “Mikasa, meet Levi. Levi, meet my step-sister Mikasa.” Mikasa threw him a quick glance, and by the look of it Levi had looked back.  
“You should take the fucking time to introduce us properly, not just do it in a crowded hallway,” Levi answered, surprising me again. Did he really care about how he was introduced to my sister? We had arrived at our destination, giving me an excuse to not answer. Quickly throwing in my books and retrieving my keys, I turned around to an awkward silence between the three others. Mikasa looked over at me, her eyes questioning. 

“Where are you going to stay?” her question was clearly meant for me, but Levi beat me to the answer  
“We are staying at my place. We’re just stopping at your place to drop of his fucking bicycle and getting him a few things first,” he answered in a heartbeat, as if this was something we had actually talked about and not something he had decided just now. I clenched my fist, trying to suppress my irritation. Armin’s eyes darted towards my keys in a way that made me think he had something to say. 

“I can ride your bicycle home. If that’s a problem I mean,” Armin didn’t dare look at the senior and locked eyes with me instead. Even though I didn’t want to ride in a car alone with Levi, I realised that this was the most practical solution since he was going to my place anyway, and nodded. “Yeah, that would be great,” I said and turned towards Levi. “ And why do you get to decide where we should stay?” I asked, trying not to sound too irritated. I probably did a bad job. He made a soft huffing sound indicating just how annoying and childish he thought I was. I ignored him and kept my stare. His silver-grey eyes locked with mine, but not in the way Armin’s had. This was a way to determine just how stubborn I was, and I would not go down without a fight. What made it just that much harder to keep my face was the way his intense gaze made my ears heat. An eyeroll and an intense staring competition later he declared it was because my room probably wasn’t as clean as his apartment and he didn’t want to deal with parents. I couldn’t really argue against that and without saying anything else we walked out of the school building. The bicycle lot was in a different direction and therefore I had to walk alone with Levi. He didn’t say anything and so I didn’t either. He didn’t strike me as the type for chit-chatting and I had no desire to test my theory. 

His car was spotless, to the point where I was afraid of even getting inside of it. I would probably dirty it just by looking at it. A quick glance from Levi kept me from delaying any further. The radio came on when he started the car, a channel with music from every decade running. As he turned out of the parking lot he started humming softly, barely audible. It was an unexpectedly comfortably sound and I turned to look out the window hoping that the car ride would be over quickly, or at least that I wouldn’t have to talk.  
“Eren,” his calm voice dragged me out of my daydream and I looked over at him.  
“Where do you live?” That was true, I still had to get some stuff to sleep in and wear for the next few days. I explained the way quickly and he seemed surprised to discover that I lived so near the school. 

We reached home before Mikasa and Armin, and dad’s car wasn’t there meaning there was no one home. Levi still refused to come in with me. I tried to not let the pressure of him waiting for me rush my packing, but it was hard not to. Levi was not the kind of guy you wanted to annoy just for fun. I still used quite a bit of time and Mikasa came home with Armin before I had the time to finish.  
“Eren, are you going to be okay?” Mikasa gave me a skeptical look, trying to not let it show just how worried she really was. I shrugged, trying to tell her it would be fine.  
“It’ll probably be okay,” I assured her, ignoring her worried look. I didn’t know what else to do. Yes, it sucked to get a total stranger that was three years older than me and had his own apartment as my partner. But I would survive this and get a good grade. That was all that mattered by this point. 

After hugging Mikasa and Armin I left the house. Levi sat staring out the window and seemed to be in his own world. He noticed me coming towards the car though and followed me with his eyes. My ears started to heat again and I hurried to his car, glad that he couldn’t see my blush. I tossed my bag in the back of the car and sat down in the front. His eyes kept following me until I was sitting in his car. He slowly put the car in drive and entered the road without another word.


	6. A3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heya! I'm sorry for the late update, I can be a total slowpoke sometimes. Sorry again for that! I think I'll start updating every tuesday from now on, so it will at least be a chapter each week. Does that sound good? Good.  
> Thanks to SigridMarie for being the best beta ever and translating my writing into readable writing.  
> Also, If you wanna get in touch with me(for whatever reason) you can find me on aotaddiction on tumblr.  
> Have fun with the new chapter as the assignment really begins!

The apartment complex that we parked outside looked new from the outside. It had clean edges and was painted white. I knew for a fact, though, that it had been here forever, as we had driven by here many times in my childhood. As I got out of the car I wondered if Levi had lived here every time I had driven by with my family. I didn’t get much time to think about it, as Levi was already on his way inside. I quickly got my bag out of the car and started a small jog to catch up. He held the door open for me, and while I had a quick glance at the lobby he checked his mailbox. The inside was just like I imagined it; white, clean and sharp. At second glance you could see small telltale signs that is was older than it seemed at first glance. Levi was halfway up the first stairs when I realised he was gone and I had to stop my train of thought to catch up with him. Again.

He lived on the third floor, apartment 3A to be exact. He quickly unlocked the door and went inside, leaving the door open for me. The entry was small, but surprisingly practical.  
“Take your shoes off in the entry,” Levi said, giving me a pointed look before he was on his way further inside the apartment. I slipped off my shoes and left them beside the others. He had organized them in a way that made me think it was more of a system than what I first thought. I didn’t have a jacket on me as it was still quite warm outside, so I took a few steps inside the apartment, my bag slung over my shoulder.

The walls were a light yellow color. It probably would have looked terrible if it hadn’t been for all the natural light that came in from the windows that covered the entirety of one of the walls. I couldn’t help but stare - I had never noticed these windows from the outside. Levi’s apartment had a combined kitchen and living room, halfway separated by the kitchen island. It was furnished sparsely; a couch, tv and a coffee table being the only furniture by the window. The rest of the room was kind of bare, not even a dining table in sight. A door on the other side of the room suddenly opened and Levi emerged. It was probably his bedroom, but I wasn’t able to tell as he closed the door the second he was out. He looked at my bag and sighed.  
“You can put that in my bedroom,” he said and walked towards the kitchen, then through a door that wasn’t visible from where I stood. I went over to the bedroom door and opened it, slipping inside. The room was quite big and simply furnished. The walls were a dark blue, the bed frame and closet brown. It was just as neat and tidy as the rest of the apartment. I laid my bag at the end of the bed and took a last look around the room before I ventured out into the living room again. Levi was nowhere to be found so I took the opportunity to go roam the fridge.

I had just opened the refrigerator door when Levi came back from what I assumed was the bathroom. He lifted an eyebrow when he caught me red-handed. I couldn’t imagine why a look inside his refrigerator would be a reason for a glare like that, but I had a feeling I would soon find out.  
“Just what the fuck do you think you’re doing?” His voice was just as calm as ever and he kept his stare at me. I tried to look as innocent as I could when I answered.  
“Just checking what you had,” I said as I closed the door, not breaking eye contact for a second. Levi made a tsk sound and moved past me. He got a glass from one of the shelves and I took a mental note of where to find it for later. He filled it with water from the spring and I could sense the awkward silence creep up on us. I put my hands in my pocket and looked around again.  
“So, are there any more bedrooms?” I had been wondering ever since we arrived where Levi’s parents slept. Levi shook his head before he answered.  
“No, only one bedroom so you will have to sleep on the couch,” he said as he put the glass in the sink and moved past me again. I knitted my brows in confusion.  
“Do you sleep in the same room as your parents?” The question was out of my mouth before I had even thought about asking and Levi gave me look that told me he hadn’t thought I was that stupid.  
“I live alone,” It was the only logical answer but that only left me with several more questions. How did he afford this? Why did he live alone? Where were his parents?

Levi seemed to sense my confusion, but didn’t say anything more. He walked past me, heading for the couch.  
“Tell me about yourself, kid,” The command surprised me; both him saying it and the authority in which it was said. This was not asking, this was demanding.  
“I, uh, I’m fifteen years old, I live with my sister and father-”  
“You have another sister or are you talking about your adoptive sister?” Levi interrupted me, which was just as good since I couldn’t really come up with anything else about myself.  
“I’m talking about Mikasa,” I didn’t quite like the fact that he referred to Mikasa as my adoptive sister. I had come to think of the word as offensive. He nodded to urge me on. I laid my hand at the back of my neck, scratching it restlessly.  
“What else do you wanna know? I don’t really have any hobbies, I don’t have any animals and I don’t have a job right now,” I offered, shrugging. Levi just looked at me, not really giving me a response. After a minute I thought it was starting to get uncomfortable again and I asked him about what he usually did. He sighed like this was something he didn’t want to talk about and slumped down on the couch.  
“I have a shitty job, school, an apartment and some annoying friends. I don’t really have time for anything else,” there was a finality in his voice that said he was done with the topic, but I was definitely not.  
“How do you pay for the apartment?” It was not the question that bothered me the most, but it was the first one that popped into my head at that moment. He almost looked surprised when he heard me talk. Giving me a glance, he settled more comfortably in the couch and I leaned over the kitchen island giving him all my attention.  
“I have an uncle that helps me pay the bills. The rest I cover from my own pocket,” he answered, picking up the remote control. I wanted to ask more, but decided to save it for later until he was in a better mood. I stood there for a few more minutes, watching Levi switch through channels before I went back into the bedroom to get my homework. If levi didn’t want to talk right now I could do my homework instead. I sat down by the kitchen island - the closest thing to a table - and got to work.

Math had never been my strongest subject and the topic we were learning about now was complicated. I had been trying to solve the same problem for a good fifteen minutes when Levi came over.  
“Are you doing homework?” The way he said it made me think he didn’t really care, he just thought he should make conversation. I nodded in response and thought a little bit more before I threw my pencil at the wall, finishing my little tantrum with putting my head in my hands.  
“Oi, kid! What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” I jumped at the volume of his voice. It was a sharp sound, like a whip. I looked surprised up at him. He went over and examined the wall.  
“You could have left a mark,” he said dryly, looking back at me. He wore his usual scowl, but now that he knew the pencil hadn’t made any damage he seemed calmer. He picked it up and threw it back at me, not even checking if I was paying attention. I almost caught it and it landed on the floor behind me. Levi smirked and would probably not have laughed if I hadn’t looked as angry as I did. His voice rang high again, but this time with a much more pleasant sound. I bent down and picked the pencil up from the floor, getting back on the chair without looking at him. He came over and leaned on the opposite side of the island.  
“What’s the problem?” he asked, living up to my impression of not liking chit-chat. I grumbled, considering for a second to ask him for help. I pushed the idea out of my head before I said something stupid.  
“Nothing, just having trouble with a math problem,” I said, still not looking at him. He stood there for a few minutes before he pushed himself away from the island.  
“You will have to finish it later, we’re going to get some dinner now,” he left the kitchen not waiting for an answer and I decided I wouldn’t be a part of this dictatorship any longer.  
“No, I’ll stay here,” I said, turning my attention back to the book. I could sense Levi’s stare at the back of my neck, but ignoring it like a champ I continued on to the next problem. I’d have to ask Armin for help with the difficult one tomorrow.  
“Like hell I would leave you alone in my apartment, brat. Come on,” Levi commanded and the hairs in my neck stood up. I tried to keep my back just as straight as earlier but knowing Levi was angry and staring at me made it difficult.  
“If it’s a problem I can make dinner,” I offered, taking the risk of giving him a quick glance. He stood in the doorway to the entry, arms crossed and giving me a look that could kill. He was clearly not in the mood for any bullshit, but I was not good at being bossed around. My dad had tried that for a long time and had just given up a few years ago. He tsked and locked eyes with me.  
“As if I would let you mess up my clean kitchen. I don’t trust you to not burn down the whole place, and I want fast food,” his eyes were barely visible, he was squinting so much. He looked like he was ready to kill and I gave in. I threw my pencil at the table and for a moment I was sure he would lose it. When he saw that I stood up from the chair and made my way towards him he seemed to calm down, and not saying another word he went out to the hallway, waiting for me to put on my shoes.

The trip had been efficient. He had quickly found the first and best place that sold fast food and we had stopped there to buy something on the go. When I asked him why we couldn’t just eat there he mumbled something about ‘filthy ass dump’ and got in line.We then moved on to the grocery store where Levi insisted on me waiting in the car like some three year old, so of course I tagged along. He was grumpy through the whole store but had the decency to be nice to the lady at the checkout. It wasn’t much he wanted, just some soap and basic ingredients like milk and eggs. We arrived at the apartment less than an hour after we left. Levi had refused to let me eat in his car, not trusting my ability to keep his car clean.

We ate in silence in front of the tv. Levi kept an eye on me, checking if I spilt something on his couch. I was starting to get used to the silence when Levi turned the tv off and went to throw away the trash. I looked sourly at his back and turned the tv back on. It got me a glare, but nothing more, and I filed this under victories. I was not aware of how much time had gone by when a ball of bedclothes suddenly hit my head. I looked up to find Levi glaring down at me with a smirk.  
“You will have to do your own couch,” he explained and turned around to walk away. I stopped him with a “hey”.  
“What do you mean, I have to sleep on the couch?” By all means, the couch seemed okay to sleep on but the man had a huge bed. There was probably room enough for both of us without having to touch through the whole night and I still had to sleep on the couch?  
“Of course you will be sleeping on the couch, I’m not giving up my bed,” was all the response I got and before I could protest again he had walked into the bedroom and closed the door. I grumbled as I got up from the couch and started to put on the sheets.

Half an hour later I had finally made the couch acceptable to sleep on and I walked over to the bedroom door and knocked. Even though I didn’t particularly like Levi I didn’t want to walk in on something. He told me to come in, sounding bored, like this was some sort of routine to him. I entered the room and went straight for my bag. Levi lay on the bed, reading a book and following me with his eyes. I left the door open just to annoy him, and after brushing my teeth I lay down on my new bed and found my temporary diary. The paragraph I wrote was short, giving away how tired I was when I wrote it. I closed my eyes and told myself that I could survive three weeks with this before I fell asleep.

 

_Day 1_   
_Day one of the assignment went well. Since I already know my partner from earlier we could drop the “get to know each other” phase. We decided to stay the first week at Marco’s house and then the next week at my place. Things went as usual, and nothing worth noting happened. Looking forward to what the assignment brings us later on._   
_Jean_


	7. Cereal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heya! I'm just gonna start by saying that I'm really sorry. I said I would update on tuesdays(and I will!!) but this week got a lot more hectic than I thought. I'm sorry, again. Things seem to have settled down though! So, updates on every tuesday from now on!(if not I'll do something to make up for it).  
> Thanks to SigridMarie for being my beta and thank you reader for reading it! I really appreciate the comments and kudos, that's what keeps me writing! I'm sorry for being a slowpoke but pleas enjoy Levi and Eren eating breakfast together now yes.  
> Btw, if you wanna contact me or anything you'll find me on aotaddiction on tumblr.

“Kid, you have to get up now. I refuse to be late for school,” Levi said as he turned on the light in the living room. I groaned and dragged the sheets over my head, ignoring what Levi just said. I did not appreciate his method of waking me up, making a mental note to get revenge later on. I could hear him doing something in the kitchen and after a few minutes of mental preparation I dragged myself into a standing position. I pulled out the first clean clothes I found in my bag, and collecting them in a ball I went straight for the bathroom. On my way there I had to walk past Levi, and I felt his eyes trail me from the couch to the bathroom. Ignoring the attention, I went into the bathroom and changed clothes. I only slept in my underwear, as I couldn’t sleep in much more without waking up in the middle of the night with a heat stroke, making the undressing a quick affaire. I had always had a high body temperature and didn’t really think much of it anymore.

After having splashed cold water in my face I finally started to wake a little and went out in the kitchen to join Levi. He gave my dirty underwear a disgusted look and wasn’t able to let it go before it was safely in my bag. Sitting down at the kitchen island I stopped a yawn and looked at Levi. He was nursing his cup of hot liquid; I wasn’t sure yet what he was actually drinking. The black jeans he was wearing were so tight they looked like they were painted on. His sweater was the exact opposite, loose and probably a size or two too big. It was a dark grey sweater, making Levi a living black and white picture. He ignored me for a few minutes, way too occupied with his beverage to care about me. I looked around, trying to see if he at least had some cereal somewhere. If he had cereal he didn’t put it in plain sight and I sighed before getting off my chair. Starting at one side of the kitchen I went through the cupboards looking for something to eat. Levi gave me a sideways glance, probably wondering what I was doing. I ignored him, refusing to be the first to break the silence. He sighed before he put down his mug.  
“What are you doing, brat?” He didn’t actually sound annoyed, just curious. I continued on my quest to find cereal and answered him.  
“I’m looking for cereal,” I thought for a minute and looked over at him. “You do have cereal right?” He made a huffing sound as if to indicate that he was offended, and pointed towards the cupboard at the end.  
“It’s in there, bowls are in that cupboard and spoons are in that drawer,” He pointed as he answered me, turning to open a cupboard behind him. He snatched something out and closed it, stretching for the kettle that stood further down the counter. I went over to the cupboard he pointed at, opening it to examine what he had. There was only one type of cereal, something that screamed health and definitely didn’t contain chocolate. I took it out, not wanting to leave without breakfast, and went to find a bowl and spoon.

Levi had already found the milk for me and put it on the kitchen island. I sat down again, giving the new cereal a try. It didn’t taste as bad as I had expected but still didn’t have the sweet taste of sugar I was used to. Levi had gone back to nursing his cup and I started wondering if he had any intentions of eating actual food or if he was going to survive on just the tea. He noticed my staring, but refrained from saying anything, making me even more curious.  
“Aren’t you going to eat anything?” I asked, not pausing my eating in order to do so. Levi’s expression told me just how utterly disgusting he thought it was that I talked with my mouth full, but he answered anyway.  
“Not that it’s any of your concern,” he gave me a pointed look as he said that, “but I’ll eat something later,” he finished, taking a sip of his cup. I only looked at him and continued on my cereal, trying to find something to say that wouldn’t make me sound like the dork I was.  
“It’s not healthy you know… to not eat in the morning.”

“And why the fuck would you care about that, brat? Like I said, it’s none of your concern.”

“Well, not before but now you’re my husband and that gives me a responsibility.”

“A responsibility? What are you, my mom? I can take care of myself, I don’t need some needy kid to do that,” he looked me straight in the eye as he said the last part, underlining just how stupid he thought I was with my statement.  
“And don’t believe for a second that I will take responsibility for the stupid shit you do,” he said and after he gave me a final pointed look he went back to drinking the tea.

We sat there for a few minutes, my ears burning hot with embarrassment. Why on earth had I believed he would take this as seriously as I was? And where had that thought come from? Why did I even care that this stupid senior didn’t have healthy eating patterns, it didn’t really concern me. It was only for three weeks and then we would never speak to each other again. I was so lost in thought I almost didn’t hear Levi when he said my new pet name.  
“Brat, eat faster. I’m leaving in five minutes and if you wanna drive with me you better be in that fucking car when its starts moving,” he said and huffed. He had already made his cup disappear and realising I had no time left I put the bowl up to my mouth and chugged it down. I almost missed Levi’s face in my hurry to get the bowl to the sink, barely catching his slightly impressed but mostly grossed out face.

Levi seemed determined to keep the ride just as quiet as last time but today I would have none of it. The night in his apartment had made me just secure enough around him to start my interrogation.  
“Yesterday you said you had a job…” I left the sentence hanging in the air hoping he would continue on his own. He did not answer, he narrowed his eyes and set his jaw instead. Ignoring his signs that said back off I continued the sentence myself.  
“What do you do?” The question earned me an annoyed sigh and a glare. He pushed a hand through his hair and fixed his glare at the road again.  
“I work at a cafe,” his words had a finality to them that I refused to acknowledge.  
“A cafe? That’s pretty neat I guess. Which cafe?” His jaw tensed even more and I bet he was grinding his teeth now.  
“Why the fuck do you even want to know? Fine, we have to live together for three weeks, but that doesn’t mean that you have a free pass into my fucking privacy.The only reason you are here in this car right now is because I’m getting out of this city and to do that I need my fucking diploma. Don’t think this… relationship can become anything more than partners, and when I say partners I mean in this shitty assignment and not in anything else. You don’t need to know shit about me to do this assignment,” he took a deep breath, clearly upset by the topic before he continued. “ Don’t think for a single damned second that we will become friends later or that you will come down to where I work to eat lunch with me or that we will have any form of contact later on. After three weeks, this shitty ring,” he held up the finger with the ring so there would be no doubt about which he meant,” will be thrown away for good and that’s the end of the story,” he was almost short of breath after finishing his speech and I was almost at the point where I jumped out of the car even though it was still speeding down the road. I had no idea why my question had set him off as it had but I could feel anger boiling in my chest. I hadn’t said anything wrong, I hadn’t implied any of these things and I did not deserve this treatment. I had worked hard and long to control my anger but this time I just let it loose. I sat up straight in my seat again and looked over at the senior.  
“What the fuck? I never said or implied any of that! Who do you think you are? Fine we don’t have to even look at each other after this but you have to deal with the fact that I am-,” Levi interrupted me quickly by pulling into the school and turning off the ignition. He got his bag, got out of the car and slammed the door shut again. I was left in the car almost not believing what had just happened. I got my own bag and climbed out as well. Levi stood ready with the key and locked the car the moment all four doors were closed.  
“I’ll see you at lunch,” he said, and then turned around and walked towards the school building. I was frozen in the same spot, left looking after him. I couldn’t believe how rude he was. He had known me for less than twenty four hours and he already acted as if he hated me more than rapists and kitten drowners. I didn’t know how long I had stood rooted by the car when the bell rang and forced me out of my thoughts.

I barely made class in time and was kind of grateful for it. I didn’t want to talk to anyone before I had really calmed down, afraid I would snap at them when they weren’t the real reason I was so angry. I just wasn’t able to understand why Levi was so mad at me for asking. For the eight hundred and forty third time I cursed Mr. Shadis silently in my mind and wished I had gotten anyone but Levi as my husband. I would rather have married Jean for the rest of my life than marrying Levi for three weeks. I sighed and knew that it wasn’t really true, I wouldn’t really have married Jean but I was so frustrated that I didn’t know what to do with myself.

Jean kept sending me weird smirks throughout the class and I started to dread the free period that came after math. I would have bet three more weeks with Levi that Jean knew who my partner was. No way in hell that he would leave this alone, even if I threatened to kick his ass for it. After I had jumped him in fifth grade and war forced to take anger management classes Jean wasn’t taking my threats seriously. I could understand that, but today there was a real danger of me actually starting a fight with him if he rubbed me the wrong way. Not really wanting to be expelled I jumped up and almost ran out of the classroom when we were dismissed. Mikasa and Armin found me by the lockers five minutes later. Knowing me as well as they did they started talking about anything but Levi. I thanked them in my mind and asked about how their evening had been. Apparently they hadn’t done anything special, just some homework and watched some tv. Dad had not been home. I had said to Armin that he could sleep in my room if he wanted to, since the assignment only asked for the partners to live in the same house.  
“Armin, could you bring my headset tomorrow? The last time I saw it was in my room,” I asked since I had forgotten it yesterday. If Levi was going to act like he had today I would need something to block him out with. Just the thought of three more weeks with snappy Levi made me want to go home and forget about the whole assignment. Armin nodded and then he and Mikasa had to go to their advanced math class. I was left behind with nothing to do before my german class and it was almost an hour until that begun. Grabbing some books from my locker I walked towards the library. The chances of finding Jean there was almost none and therefore that was the safest place to be at the moment. I was still not in a mood where I could talk to Jean without him being in danger of getting a blue eye.

The hour went by faster than expected and soon enough the teacher left the classroom and we were free to go. Levi had said he would meet me at lunch, but I doubted it. I didn’t want to eat with him anyway and was therefore looking for Mikasa in the cafeteria instead when a hand grabbed my shoulder and dragged me backwards. Losing my balance and almost falling, I tried to keep up with the hand while protesting loudly. Sighing loudly Levi let my shoulder go and I could almost hear the eyeroll that accompanied it. He turned quickly to meet my stare, matching it with one of his own.  
“I said I would see you at lunch, why are you ignoring me?” he seemed to have calmed down after this morning, just being his grumpy self now.  
“I didn’t really want to eat with you after the lovely speech you gave me this morning,” I coldly replied. The senior’s eyes darkened and I was sure it was the moment before he dragged me by the ear.  
“You shitty brat, stop being so difficult and come here,” he turned around, expecting me to follow. The temptation to just ignore him and go find Mikasa instead was almost overwhelming, but if Jean saw Levi dragging me off by my ear I would never hear the end of.

My grumpy husband sat down at a table with the same people that I had seen him sitting with earlier. Lucky for me, the chair beside Levi was empty. Even though I didn’t especially like the senior at the moment I didn’t want to sit with some complete stranger either. I dumped loudly into the chair to tell him just how mean I thought he was and was answered by him ignoring me. I leaned as far back in the chair as I could and tried to find something more amusing to look at. This was going to be a shitty lunch if Levi was going to ignore me.

_Day 1_   
_After a few hours of total silence from my partner, he finally started to talk . He seemed to be shocked for quite a while but when he got back to his senses we really hit it off. I think these three weeks can be really cool even tho I wasn’t paired with the most awesome senior in this school. We have a lot in common and will probably be able to get along pretty good for this assignment. It was kinda strange to have an almost complete stranger sleeping on my couch though so I will have to get used to that. Otherwise there really isn’t much to say._   
_Isabel_


	8. So, Jaeger...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heya! So... another late update. I'm sorry. I really am. I have decided to say that from now on there will be an update every week, but it will be random when in the week I'll update it depending on when I have the time and when my beta has the time. I hope I can make up for it with an extra long chapter this time tho? (It's not that long, just longer than what I usually write). I wanna thank my great beta reader SigrdMarie and with no further delay: let's go!

“Hi, you must be Eren! Levi has talked so much about you…” the over-enthusiastic senior in front of me leaned over the table and was in just the right position for Levi to knock her in the head. She retreated quickly, pouting at Levi.  
“Eren, this is my friend Hanji. They do not have a proper raising and are therefore not able to act like a normal human being,” my husband said, giving Hanji a dark look.  
“The big blonde that looks like captain america is Erwin, the other tall blonde is Mike,” both Mike and Erwin smiled at me as Levi continued with the presentations.  
“This lady here is Petra and sitting beside her is her boyfriend Aurou. He’s a dick and doesn’t deserve Petra, but I guess it’s her choice,” Petra smiled and stretched over the table to shake my hand. I took it and shook it lightly, earning a dark look from Aurou. The redhead only rolled her eyes over her boyfriend’s jealous tendencies.  
“Sooooo Ereeeeen…. Tell us a little about yourself, will you?” Hanji was laying over the table again, this time avoiding Levi’s hand when he tried to smack her,her eyes fixed on me.  
“I, uhm are a freshman here? But you probably knew that,” I said feeling stupid. How come I always went blank when people asked about me?  
“He lives with his dad and adoptive sister, has no hobbies, is unreasonably stubborn and snores like a chainsaw,” Levi locked gazes with Hanji, daring her to challenge his statement. Hanji only smiled and directed her attention towards Levi instead.  
“Hey!” I exclaimed loudly. I did not snore, and I was pretty sure Levi knew it too. I was staring angrily at Levi and he met my gaze with the same challenging look that he had given Hanji, daring me to do something about it.  
“It seems that you have become pretty close in the few hours you have spent together... “ Hanji interrupted our staring match and Levi threw her a sharp glare. Hanji only laughed and the rest of the table seemed just as confused as me. I had the feeling that there was something I was missing. Levi was gritting his teeth, clearly upset over what Hanji had said.  
“I wouldn’t say that, he won’t even tell me where he works,” I said hoping that Hanji would take the bait. Her eyes lit up in excitement, eying a chance to aggravate Levi even more.  
“Oh, he works with me! We work at this place called Sina’s café,” Hanji got so excited telling me about the café that she forgot to watch out for Levi’s hand and got hit again. She quickly retreated back in her chair looking as smug as a kid that knew he would get a treat even though he was acting badly.  
“Sina? Isn’t that part of the Wall chain?” I asked. When I was younger we used to go to the Wall cafe’s all the time. They were part of a local chain that had three cafe’s running at the moment: Maria, Rose and Sina. A couple of months ago there had been an accident in Maria; I hadn’t quite caught what had happened, but the cafe was closed for the time being.

Hanji was nodding excitedly. Levi on the other hand looked like he wanted to kill something. The big blondes were ignoring them, talking to each other. Petra’s boyfriend had not stopped his small jealous outbursts and was giving me a dark look every now and then. Hanji and Levi started discussing driving somewhere and I stopped paying attention when my pocket vibrated. I dragged the phone up from my pocket, checking what was going on. Jean had been the source of the vibration and I sighed as I opened my phone to see what he wanted.

  **-You don’t wanna introduce us to your new husband?? Very rude, I am hurt**

I rolled my eyes, not caring if I hurt Jean’s feelings or not. I looked over at my usual table and found that all my friends were looking at me. I noticed that there was a new boy and a new girl at the table; Connie’s partner and an unknown boy. By the looks of it the new boy already knew Connie’s partner and they seemed to get along well with the rest. The girl was waving in a ridiculous manner, and I started to wonder who she was waving at when I noticed a motion beside me. Levi had raised his arm and answered the wave with a short flick of his wrist. The girl seemed pleased and turned back to Sasha. I turned to look at Levi but he was talking to Hanji again. Nobody else seemed to find the gesture strange and I started to wonder how they knew each other.

“Kid, are you listening?” Levi broke my train of thought by flicking me on the forehead. I almost fell out of my chair in surprise and Petra suppressed a laugh. Everyone else on the table were laughing loudly, making my ears turn pink in embarrassment.  
“I was listening,” I said in a feeble attempt at restoring my honour. Levi flicked me on the forehead again, but this time I was able to stay in the chair. I rubbed the spot and scowled at him.  
“Don’t lie to me,” he said, explaining his actions. I wanted to deny it, but did not think it was worth another flick to the forehead.  
“My shift starts at five, so you will have to manage on your own for a few hours… If you want to, you could go home to your own place and I’ll pick you up after work,” he said the last part with badly concealed hope, clearly not wanting me to be alone in his apartment. It was a good offer though, and I almost accepted it. I would much rather be home with Mikasa and Armin than stay alone in his apartment the whole evening. The only thing that stopped me was knowing just how much it would bother him if I went home with him instead. I considered this revenge for not being allowed to stay in the apartment while Levi went to get food yesterday.  
“No, I think I’ll rather stay at the apartment,” I answered and watched Levi’s expression darken. He really didn’t want me in the apartment alone, I realised, feeling a sharp stab in my chest. Did he really mistrust me that much? In a matter of seconds it changed from a revenge plan to an opportunity to show that I was worthy of the trust he would not give me.  
“Fine, I’ll drop you off before I go to work,” Levi said, standing up. Lunch was almost over, and he grabbed his belongings and left while the rest of us was standing up.

Jean kept sending me texts throughout the rest of the day. We had classes going nonstop after lunch and therefore Jean had no opportunity to confront me directly. I tried to ignore him as best as I could, but the constant vibrating got more and more annoying as the minutes went by and in the middle of the last class I was just about to tell the teacher that Jean was using his phone, when suddenly everybody stood up and the teacher told us that we could go home early today. I gritted my teeth as Jean made his way over, trailed by Marco and Connie.  
“So Jaeger; tell us everything! I was wondering how it could be that you didn’t get a partner for the assignment,” Jean said, his smug grin only widening, “but it seems that Mr. Shadis saved a special one just for you!” I rolled my eyes over his stupidity and resisted the urge to slap the smug grin off his face.  
“He seemed kinda short and grumpy, but I guess that’s just your type hmm Jaeger?” Jean continued his teasing but I was tired of it and had had enough.  
“Don’t talk badly about Levi. He’s a lot better than you could ever dream of being, and that’s when he’s not even trying,” I answered, not understanding why it bothered me so much that Jean talked badly about my angry senior. I was overreacting, I could feel the dangerous glint in my eyes: I was daring Jean to fight me - with all the worked up frustration from dealing with Levi I needed an outlet.

Jean laughed and backed away, plastering that hideous grin on his face again when he was at a safe distance. Marco smiled apologetically at me. He knew what an asshole Jean could be.  
“It seems you have already become rather attached to Levi,” Jean said, not letting it go. I was about to snap back at him when another voice from the door demanded our attention.  
“Oi, brat. What are you still doing in here?” Levi was looking at us, annoyance and slight confusion dominating his face. Jean almost started bouncing, he got so excited. I quickly gathered my things in a futile attempt to get out of the classroom before Jean opened his mouth.  
“Leeeeviiii,” Jean dragged out his name in a strange way, probably trying to tease me, but he ended up just sounding stupid. I shoved everything into my backpack and grabbed it off of the floor without bothering to close it first, leading to everything falling out. I groaned as Jean darted forward and continued.  
“So you are the mysterious husband! We have not heard anything about you because Eren is an idiot. It’s so nice to meet you!” Jean exclaimed, Marco hanging on his arm looking embarrassed. He smiled and waved.  
“Hi, this is Jean and I’m Marco. We are friends of Eren,” Marco said, probably saving the situation.  
“Nice to meet you, I’m Eren’s partner Levi,” Levi responded and looked over at me impatiently. I was shoveling all my belongings into my backpack as fast as I could, but it probably wasn’t fast enough.  
“So, are you a senior?” Jean had started talking again by the time I had repacked everything. I stood up and walked towards Levi, hoping that he would be more interested in leaving than talking to Jean. Levi’s answer was a short yes before he turned around to leave. Jogging to catch up to him, I thanked whoever had heard my prayer that he seemed to be in a better mood now.

Levi eyed me anxiously. He really didn’t want to leave me alone in his apartment.  
“Don’t do something stupid while I’m not here, okay. You will pay for everything you damage, I fucking swear to God,” Levi threatened and I nodded while rolling my eyes. He was such a control freak. Eying me suspiciously he grabbed his keys and walked towards the door. He had already changed into his uniform, a dark red t-shirt with cafe Sina’s logo on it and the black jeans he had been wearing all day. I sat by the kitchen island with my phone, keeping my eyes on him until I heard the door slam shut. Quickly jumping off the bar stool I looked around the apartment. Levi had said he wouldn’t be home until late tonight - his shift wasn’t over until eleven pm.

I ended up watching some tv, finding some sitcom with bad humor and an even worse plot. Usually I enjoyed this kind of show but I realised quickly that it wasn’t nearly as funny when you were alone. I zapped through some other channels but was now charged with restless energy. I left the tv on and went over to the kitchen. I had originally planned to just eat some cereal for dinner, but a cooking program I had skipped through had given me an idea. The fridge was disappointingly empty, just some random ingredients left. I made a face at the fridge and closed it again. The nearest store was probably not that far away, surely within walking distance. I had just left the building when I remembered I didn’t have the key. Cursing under my breath, I looked back up at the apartment. There was nothing I could do now but hope that it didn’t have a spring lock.

The supermarked was really close it turned out, only five minutes of walking. They had everything I needed and wanted, plus chocolate and a cute cashier to boot. My mood was only darkened by the possibility that I wouldn’t be able to get into the apartment. I had checked the time before I left the store and it was still four more hours until Levi came home. I dreaded the thought of having to call him just to tell him that I was locked out.

The apartment door opened without any fuss and I sighed in relief. It took me quite some time to place everything in the kitchen; Levi had a whole other system than we had back home and I just hoped I put everything where they belonged. I still had plenty of time and realised I probably should be working on the assignment we had gotten in english. I dreaded starting on it but there was no way around it now.

Several hours went by with the frustration of schoolwork. It was a relief when the time came to put down my homework and begin on dinner instead. I wasn’t going to make something very fancy or special, but knowing all too well how it felt to come home to an empty house everyday, I thought it would be a nice change for Levi to come home to a finished dinner. He probably hadn’t eaten since he went to work and that would be many hours ago. As I made the tomato sauce I started to wonder if Levi usually ate dinner on the days he worked late. Probably not, I thought to myself just as I heard the door open. I could feel unease blossom in my chest, knowing that I had done nothing wrong but still afraid of getting caught red-handed. He stalled in the hall, taking his time with hanging up his jacket and placing his shoes with the others. An annoyed sigh sounded from the hall and I remembered I had just kicked off my shoes earlier.

“Kid, I was not fucking with you whe-” He stopped himself in the middle of the sentence when he entered the living room and found me in the kitchen, cooking. I met his eyes and the moment seemed to last forever. His expression was one of surprise but suddenly it softened and he looked over at the stove.  
“What are you doing?” for once his tone wasn’t condescending or annoyed: he sounded genuinely interested.  
“I’m cooking dinner,”  
“Dinner? At -” he stopped to check his watch, “ten-thirty in the evening?”  
“Well… I wanted to wait for you so we could eat together,” I said as I remembered his speech from the morning.  
“Not that I wanted to.. intrude in your life or anything. I just didn’t wanna eat alone,” I quickly added, not wanting another angry outburst from my husband. Levi shook his head while I talked as if to reassure me that it was fine. He walked over to the kitchen island and sat down, looking at the stove as if trying to see through the pan at its contents. I shifted my focus back to the food and there was a comfortable silence for a while. It seemed that the senior just needed a little time to let himself feel tired and I had to make the dinner so it suited us both pretty well.

As I put the pans on the kitchen island I noticed Levi had found plates and cutlery before he left for a shower. I could still hear the shower running and went to get my journal to write today's entry before I forgot. Levi emerged just as I was finished writing. He wore nothing but a towel around his waist making it impossible not to notice his nicely sculptured torso. He was clearly working out and made all doubts about him being able to take me in a one-on-one combat seem ridiculous. His hair was messy from being towel dried, a few drops threatening to fall onto his amazing back. He walked right past me and into the bedroom, only giving me a smirk as he passed me. I could feel myself blush and stood up, leaving the notebook on the couch. I blamed the redness in my face on the heat and walked over to the kitchen to find something to drink.

He emerged from the bedroom a couple of minutes later in grey sweatpants and a black t-shirt that clung to his chest, walking over to the kitchen island and sitting down beside me without saying a word. We helped ourself to the spaghetti bolognese I had made, and started eating in silence. It didn’t take me long before I became painfully aware of his arm that casually brushed against mine from time to time. I wanted to ask about how work had been, if he had any difficult classes or how he had gotten to know his friends but I stopped myself. He had made it very clearly that he did not want to share any details of his life with me, but it made it very difficult to find a topic to talk about. I could feel his gaze on me several times, but I ignored it, focusing on my pasta instead. He sighed, his whole body going through the motion.  
“What’s on your mind, kid?” Levi looked over at me before he scooped another fork into his mouth. Opening my mouth to say I had no idea what he was talking about, I decided against it at the last moment.  
“I was just wondered how work was tonight,” I said and furrowed my brows before bursting out in laughter.  
“That really sounded like something one would ask his husband,” I explained. Levi quirked an eyebrow.  
“Why are you laughing then, I am your husband after all,” Levi shook his head as he said it. I looked over at him.  
“Yeah, I guess you are,” I said and cleared my throat. “So, how was work?” I finished and smiled. Levi chuckled and put another fork of pasta in his mouth. I had to wait for him to finish chewing and used the opportunity to drink some water.  
“Work was full of stupid people who took forever to place their order and talked really loudly. Also someone broke a cup full of coffee, so I had to clean up after the person and not say something offensive when he came to order another one,” Levi talked animatedly, using his fork to underline just how annoying he thought it was, and I continued eating while looking at him. I almost didn’t notice that I had cleared my plate, caught up in Levi’s stories from work.

“Hanji works there too. They are nice to have around as they usually don’t fuck up things and know that I like to have a clean environment,” he stopped himself to groan loudly, “except for when they are trying out new recipes. Fuck, the coffee never turns out anything other than shit, but they still continue with the fucking experimenting,” he exclaimed. We had been talking for a while, both of us finished with our dinners. It was as if Levi was trying to make up for giving me the cold shoulder this morning and I didn’t mind. Just then he looked up at the clock hanging above the sink. Realising just how late it was he stood up and grabbed our plates.  
“I didn’t know it was this late, shit,” he mumbled as he went over to the dishwasher. I stood up as well, unsure of what to do. I wanted to help clean up, but knowing that he was very specific about his cleaning I concluded that I would probably fuck something up. I quickly decided that I could go brush my teeth instead, and went to retrieve my toothbrush. I spent more time brushing my teeth than usual, hoping he would be done in the kitchen by the time I was finished. It turned out that I was taking too long, and Levi joined me in the bathroom. He stood beside me, finding his floss and bumping me over with his hip when he needed the mirror. I was so shocked by the fact that the senior had actually bumped hips with me like a ten years old girl that I forgot to be irritated about it.

“Turn off the lights,” I said as I rolled over on my couch to look at Levi.  
“You should have done it when you passed by earlier.”  
“I didn’t want you to stumble on something and sit in the living room swearing all night, I wouldn’t have been able to sleep.”  
“Brat.”

_Day 2_  
_Day 2 has been peaceful. We are still getting used to the idea of living together. So far it’s strange having to take into consideration what another person is thinking and feeling when I plan my day or make appointments. I don’t think we really will be able to experience the assignment before next week when we have adapted more to each other, when the idea of living with someone is not new and the stress of someone seeing you in your personal time is not keeping you on your toes. I think the continuation of the assignment will be interesting and I look forward to seeing what the next weeks will bring._  
_Armin_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I feel bad for telling you guys that I would update on tuesday and not do it so I thought I could write an extra journalentry from a character of your pick! I'll publish it on my tumblr and put a link in the notes when it's done. So you gotta tell me who you want an entry from!


	9. Tea

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heya! Well, I don't really have anything to say for myself. I have had a major writingblock and some personal issues and yeah. But I'm back now! I can't promise updates at a regular basis, but I can promise that I will update eventually (and it will probably not be such a hugh gap between updates again). Other that that I changed my username here on ao3. I went from Ausa till TheNorthLight. So that's that.   
> The chapter has been mostly been betaed by SigridMarie (not the last part).   
> Other than that I have nothing to say!

“Get up,” Levi greeted me the next morning. I groaned and turned around, pulling my blanket up over my head. I could hear Levi walk past me before his steps faded and a door was closed, presumably the bathroom door. I turned around again and hung myself over the edge of the couch, stretching to grab my bag. I picked up clean underwear and a clean sweater together with yesterday’s pants. Groaning loudly I failed miserably at my attempt to get back on the couch and fell to the floor with a thump. This was going to be a challenging day.

“What do you want for dinner?” Levi’s question grabbed my attention and I looked over at him. We were walking towards his car and the light rain made his hair cling to his face. The day had gone by in a blur, and school was already over. I shrugged in response and hooked my thumbs in the pocket of my jeans.

“I don’t really care, I’m not picky,” I answered, just in case my shrug hadn’t been enough. There was the soft sound of shoes splashing in the small puddles that had gathered in the short time it had been raining. A few other students were hurrying past us, their jackets or bags held above their head. I was usually one of those students myself, but seeing as Levi appeared to not give a damn I decided that I would rather walk with him than stand by the car and wait.

“No dinner then,” Levi answered as he cast me a quick glance tinged with exasperation. We reached his car before I was able to come up with a reply that didn’t sound completely idiotic. He swiftly unlocked the car and sat in, throwing his bag in the backseat in the process. Imitating him, I opened my own door and got in. The windows fogged up almost instantly as I closed the door, making it almost impossible to resist the urge of drawing something on the window. Levi’s hair was dripping now, but either he didn’t notice or he didn’t care. It hit his neck and shoulders and for a moment the image of him dripping in his car had me dumbfounded. It hit me in that moment just how attractive Levi really was. Of course I had always thought the senior was pretty and handsome, but it didn’t really strike me until then just how hot he really was. Maybe even my kind of hot, I thought to myself when Levi started the car. The engine purring to life dragged me out of my own thoughts and made me realise I was staring. I hurriedly turned my attention towards the radio instead, turning it off and on without really knowing what I was trying to do.

“Where the fuck did you go?” My husband sounded genuinely curious and the tips of my ears heated up. I had been blushing more in the last two days than I had ever before and I was only now starting to realise why. Did I really find Levi that attractive?

I shook my head instead of answering out loud. I had no intention of telling him that I was distracted by the fact that I had just realised just how hot he was. I could feel his eyes on me and I did my best to distract myself with the radio again, tuning it out and making it hiss like an angry kid. Levi pushed my hand away with a sigh and tuned it back to a channel. The sun only shines on tv filled the car as my husband pulled out of the parking lot. The rain had only started falling harder, making it almost impossible to really see anything outside of the car. Levi changed the channel on the radio again, some unknown song with a country tune filling the car. He tapped the steering wheel with his sleek index finger, keeping the beat of the song. Otherwise it was quiet between us. He opened his mouth a couple of times as if he had something to say but changed his mind about it.

I recognised the song after a little while, it was one of those few country songs that made it to the regular radio stations. My mom had used to have one of those stations on when she was in the kitchen and I was taken back to a sunny afternoon with summer in the air and sounds of dinner plates being rearranged. A second later I was back in the car, the heavy rain still pounding loudly on the car hood. Levi seemed at peace, humming in the tune of a new song that was playing on the radio as he parked by the store. For a moment we sat there in silence before he sighed and opened the door. I almost jumped out of the car to keep up, but he was already halfway over the parking lot. I had to jog to catch up.

The short walk from the car to the store had soaked us again. I had a hard time trying not to look at the small drops that ran across my husband’s face.

“Grab a cart,” he said and continued into the store, not waiting for me to either respond or get the cart. His rude request was met though, and I followed him into the store begrudgingly.

As soon as I was inside I realised that I had no idea of where Levi actually had gone. He had completely disappeared from my view. I contemplated calling his name but decided that he would probably kill me if I actually did it and started wandering instead. Whenever I found something I would like I threw it in the cart. By the time I had been through the store three times the cart was half full of oreos, noodles, chocolate and cereal. Still no sign of my husband, which I had begun to find really strange. Halfway through my fourth round I concluded that if I stood still he would probably run into me.

There were not many people in the store. I had seen a woman with a four-year-old several times, the kid riding the cart in different ways each time. The mother looked like an exhausted housewife, her brown hair tied back in a messy ponytail, a stained shirt and sneakers. Still she was polite and smiled at him every time they saw each other and she talked to her son in a calm manner. Her son seemed beyond thrilled and had been talking animatedly when they passed. I wondered what it was like to have a little kid running after you wherever you went. A little person that was always happy to see you, that would love you unconditionally whatever you did. What would it be like to have that responsibility? This little person was dependent on you. You wouldn’t be able to have me-time in eighteen years. What if you ha-  
“Where the fuck have you been? And what the fuck have you stuffed the cart with?” my husband’s voice startled me out of my own thoughts. He was rearranging the cart, stacking it so there would be room for everything without damaging anything.   
“I was looking for you! You just disappeared. I looked through the whole store, three times,” I couldn’t help but feel offended that he blamed it on me. He was the one that had gone into the store and left me behind. Suddenly he looked up at the cart and almost threw the oreos at me, sneering.   
“We are NOT buying oreos,” he declared and I almost sacrificed the oreos in favor of living another day. The killer stare he had plastered on was taking terrifying to a whole new level.   
“Yes, we are! I refuse to be bossed around, you don’t have to eat them! You don’t even have to pay for them!” I said, defending my oreos. I needed those oreos for surviving his bitter mood.

“I don’t care about who’s paying them, I will not have oreos in my house! You will probably eat them while you’re sitting on the couch and I will have to vacuum oreo crumbs for half a year,” Levi retorted and I was genuinely offended.   
“Stop being so childish, you knew what you were getting into when you said yes. I will not budge on this, it’s either the oreos and me or nothing at all. Take it or leave it,” I said and put on my most challenging scowl. I was quite proud of myself for standing my ground with the death glare Levi was sending me. His hand was now gripping the side of the cart so hard that you could see the strain on his hands and a small twitch in his little finger exposed just how much self restraint he was exercising at the moment. His eyes were small slits, barely visible now. His mouth was in a matching line and it was hard to keep my posture.

“Now, boys… Please don’t let this get between you,” A gentle voice by the other side of the cart said. I hadn’t realised someone had been paying attention to our little argument and almost jumped at the sound of someone else so close. I could see Levi jerk in the corner of my eye and was glad I wasn’t the only one startled. It was the mother I had gone past a couple of times and she was looking concerned at us, but with a determination in her eyes that said she would not let this go. I opened my mouth to say something, but wasn’t able to come up with anything on the spot. She had focused her eyes on Levi now and something seemed to soften in her eyes.   
“ I understand how difficult it is to… have someone live in your space. It’s new and annoying, since all the space that used to be only yours is now someone else’s space too. Things change in a way that you don’t like, and that’s okay. Just remember that sometimes change isn’t bad even though you don’t like it,” She took a break in her speech to look at me. “Just remember when it gets difficult, you chose each other for a reason,” at that she smiled slightly.

“Remember why you love each other,” She said as her finishing line and smiled at Levi. At that moment I realised what we probably looked like, a fighting couple in the middle of the supermarket. We both had wedding rings and was talking about houses and leaving. I was about to correct her, but caught a glimpse of Levi at that moment. His whole demeanor had changed. He still looked pissed off, but now in his usual way and without the death glare. He nodded at the woman and she smiled and went off. Levi moved his gaze to rest on me and I looked down at the oreos. I hadn’t even thought about how frustrating it had to be for him, suddenly having to live with someone like myself when he was used to living alone. In contradiction to what the lady had said, Levi had not chosen me. He had said yes to an assignment to not fail his class and it was in no way Levi’s fault that he was paired up with me. He probably wouldn’t have said yes if he knew how much of a twat I could be, and therefore I was in the wrong too. He probably didn’t know what he had said yes to when he had agreed to do the assignment.

“Put the oreos back in the cart,” Levi said and looked everywhere but at me. Surprised, I looked over at him, but held the oreos in my hand, not knowing if he really meant it.   
“Seriously?” I asked, and tried to not sound like an idiot. Task failed. Levi only nodded and a warm feeling spread in my chest. It was an unfamiliar feeling, but not a bad feeling really. The oreos went back in the cart and I swore to myself that I would not eat them in the couch.

Levi gripped the side of the cart and started walking. I had no choice but to follow, and felt a little like an eight year old when his mom had let him push the cart but did not really trust him to do it without destroying half of the store. We walked around for a bit while Levi picked out a lot of stuff here and there, mostly dinner things, and I commented on how healthy he ate and how boring his eating habits were. I had already found everything I wanted and was now contemplating what I wanted for dinner.

“How about soup or something? For dinner that is” I said, looking hopefully at Levi. The mood had been a little weird since the argument and I was hoping he wasn’t still angry. All he offered was a quick look over his shoulder while he still gripped the side of the cart and something  mumbled too low for me to hear. I figured that was the closest I would get to a yes and headed towards the canned soups. My husband did not seem to agree though. His hand steered the cart straight forward and, not wanting to get in another argument, I sighed and played along.

  
After another round in the store we (and by we I mean Levi) had picked up enough groceries for probably a month. At least I thought so. My husband did apparently not agree, he had been mumbling something about “stupid, big savage gonna eat me out of my house”. He took a long time in the vegetable section, only picking out the best. When I said I wasn’t a big fan of vegetables he stared at me for three straight minutes before turning around to add even more of them. We would have to discuss this later.

I didn’t have to pay for the Oreos after all. Levi payed the whole cart and I noted to myself that I had to do something nice for him in return. There was not much I could contribute with when it came to money, so I would have to figure out something else. The rain held an impressive intensity and we ended up running to the car with the groceries. At least I did. While Levi walked. Which in turn lead to me standing beside his car, waiting for him to unlock it. When I finally got in I felt like a drowned puppy and I had to remind myself to not shake all the water out from my hair.

The drive home was quiet, but not in a comfortable way. Levi seemed to have something on his mind, but I couldn’t come up with a way to ask that wouldn’t piss him off. The radio was off also, the rain and the car obnoxiously loud in the otherwise deafening silence. It was still a fairly short ride home though, and before long we stood outside of his apartment. Levi had walked straight from the car to the building, leaving me with all the groceries. Refusing to take several trips I grabbed all the bags and just prayed that nothing would tear on the way in. Luckily it didn’t and before long we were unpacking the groceries. It was mostly me putting everything where I thought it belonged and Levi reorganizing everything afterwards. I thought it was a good system and Levi didn’t complain, at least not out loud.

It turned out that Levi did not want soup for dinner. He got a lot of basic ingredients like flour and salt and I decided that while he made dinner I should get some homework done. I installed myself at the kitchen island and we ended up in a comfortable silence with each other, being together while doing our own thing. In between assignments I was able to conclude that it was pizza Levi was making. He sat down beside me when the pizza was in the oven and I realised that he had cleaned the kitchen while he made dinner which I secretly found  very impressive. I had been so caught up in one particularly difficult exercise that I hadn’t realised dinner was almost ready. Levi leaned over and took a look at my textbook.

“Is this the one you’re struggling with?” Levi asked as he pointed at the book. I nodded and made a face. He looked at it for a few more seconds before sitting back on his stool.

“Brat, that one’s not so hard. I have seen you solve worse problems than that,” he declared and I gave him an incredulous look. Had he really checked my homework to make fun of me? Wait, what did he say about solving worse? Had he been watch-  
“You have already written the answer down in the previous problem,” he pointed out and tsked as I looked down and read my answer over just to realise that he was right, I did have the answer. I quickly scribbled it down and closed the books, pushing them all the way to the farthest end of the kitchen island. My husband eyed them suspiciously and I ignored it. Instead I leaned over to see what the timer at the oven said; 12 minutes left. I sighed and stretched. By the time I was back down on the stool Levi couldn’t take it anymore and got off the stool to tidy up the place. A quick stab of guilt hit me in the stomach and I ended up setting the table to lessen it.

Levi used all the remaining time to tidy up the livingroom, specifically around the couch where I was living. He quick glances he threw my way got darker and darker as time went by and at the end he was muttering to himself, profanities I assumed. The dinner was luckily done by then and we ate in silence. I started washing the dishes afterwards while trying to come up with something to say. I didn’t like the quiet that seemed to hang around the apartment. I could always turn on the tv or radio but it couldn’t really replace the sounds of actual conversation.   
“Levi”  
“What is it?” He responded almost instantly while walking out from his bedroom. He had his pyjama bottom in hand and I started wondering why he would have them so early, it was still before seven pm, right? Or was it, I couldn’t really remember may-  
“Brat” Levi said, clearly exasperated. I wasn’t able to respond with anything better than a huh sound while trying to remember what I had planned to say.   
“Did you want something?” he asked. I opened my mouth a couple of times but ended up with just shaking my head. My husband made the tsk sound that I had realised was his signature sound and walked over to the bathroom.

“I’m gonna take a shower. Don’t kill yourself or choke to death on your words in the meanwhile.” He said and locked the door behind him. I finished the dishes in silence.

I was watching some bad tv show when Levi emerged from the bathroom, only dressed in his pyjama bottom. _Oh, that explains so much_. He went right to the kitchen and boiled some water. I focused on the tv again and was quite surprised when I heard him talk from the kitchen.

“Do you want tea?” he asked. I looked over, my surprise probably painted all over my face.   
“I don’t usually drink tea,” I asked, unsure of what to say. He rolled his eyes before responding.   
“I wasn’t asking if you usually drink tea. I asked if you want tea now.”  
“Do you have any good tea?”  
“I have a tea for newbies yes.”  
“I’m not a newbie!”  
“Whatever, do you want some?”  
“Yes.”

_Day 3_

_Day 3 has been fantastic. We woke up this morning and had breakfast together and it was very nice. Things between us has become even better. Nothing unusual happened at school and I feel like we have just become even closer since our parents now can’t chase Marco home in the evening. It’s just like I expected it to be, almost better even. I hope these three weeks won’t go too fast.  
Jean_


End file.
